NU more selective university

With its lowest acceptance rate in history, and a higher ranking in U.S. News & World Report, Norwich is becoming a more selective university, university officials said.

"We are becoming a selective school; we are becoming more recognized among our peers in such publications as the U.S. News and the World Report. We are doing a better job marketing who we are, what we are, and delivering on that promise," said Brig. Gen. Michael Kelley, commandant of cadets and vice president of student affairs.

Last year, 3,443 students applied to Norwich and 59 percent were accepted, according to the vice president of enrollment management and communications.

"The average acceptance rate at a four-year private school on the national level is in the low 70s. So this is a time where we are below the national average," said Karen McGrath, vice president of Enrollment Management and Communications.  

"We have seen a dramatic increase in applications in the past 10 years," said McGrath.  "In 2000 our applications were only 1,700."

"In a 10-year span we doubled and while we have increased the quantity we have been able to increase the quality as well," she said.

U.S. News ranked Norwich 51st in the category of Regional Universities (North), which put it in the top tier.

Diversity among the representation of home states has also increased, according to Kelley. "We have expanded to new market areas. I believe that we have Norwich students from 46 of the 50 states. Last year that would have been 40 states. The fact that New England now accounts for less than half of our incoming students is a change," Kelley said.

Admissions is a balancing act, trying to make sure the university accepts a wide range of students covering all disciplines.

"We have six academic schools at the undergraduate level so we want to make sure that we have a very strong representation in each school," said McGrath.  "We are a comprehensive university and we want to expose our students to study in a comprehensive university in order to do that you cannot have all the students in one academic major."

This representation among majors allows a student to experience more than their major of choice which as a result creates well-rounded individuals, according to McGrath.

"We have been able to work on targeted marketing to grow certain academic disciplines," said McGrath. The David Crawford School of Engineering is one of the academic disciplines that benefited from this.  

"The academic criteria vary by academic discipline," said McGrath.  "Because we have more than 30 academic majors there are 30 academic profiles that we look for."

Admisisons asks, "Does the student have the academic infrastructure to do well in their choice of study," said McGrath.  For example, an applicant  interested in international studies needs to be "well versed in foreign language because their junior year they have to study abroad in a native tongue."   

Norwich applicants need to be more than book smart.  "I try to look very holistically and tend to look at more than just a grade point average," said McGrath.  Those intangibles include community service and any activities that extend the class room.

"I always look for … what are they doing outside the classroom because Norwich is a very active school," said McGrath.  "Students who have been involved and engaged in high school tend to be a better fit for Norwich."

Admissions has been recruiting outside of New England; about 75 percent of Norwich recruiting takes place outside of New England, McGrath said.  

 "If we want to continue to grow our applications, become more selective, and find the right fit of Norwich students we needed to expand our footprint," she said. Norwich needs to target geographic regions outside New England.

Dan Magee contributed to this story.